Computer-implemented system and method for providing available parking spaces

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented system and method for providing available parking spaces is provided. Parking spaces are each associated with a hold time during which that parking space is held for a reserved vehicle. Shorter hold times are assigned to parking spaces associated with desirable parking variables and longer hold times are assigned to parking spaces with less desirable parking variables. A request for parking is received from a user. The hold time for each available parking space is applied to an arrival time of the user. One of the available parking spaces with the hold time greater than the user arrival time is identified. Prior to departure of the user from the available parking space, a time delay is introduced during which the available parking space occupied by the user is made available to drivers that physically approach the space upon departure of the user, and is not available for reservation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 9,685,085,issued Jun. 20, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No.9,087,453, issued Jul. 21, 2015, the priority dates of which are claimedand the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference.

FIELD

This application relates in general to motor vehicle parking and, inparticular, to a computer-implemented system and method for providingavailable parking spaces.

BACKGROUND

Public roads primarily facilitate traffic. Parking is offered as asecondary benefit incident to vehicle throughway. Local governmentstypically regulate parking on public roads, whether at curbside, inmunicipal lots, or on other public property, through a regulatory schemethat promotes public safety and provides revenue generation. The impactof regulated control over on-street parking affects all motorists, aswell as urban residents, local businesses, commercial drivers, and otherparties that use or rely upon on-street parking. Drivers who need topark their vehicle are directly impacted by regulated parking control.For example, looking for a parking space wastes time and fuel,contributes to traffic congestion, creates frustration and stress, andincreases pollution, while disregarding parking regulations can resultin parking tickets, fines, or towing. Despite these downsides, parkingregulation remains a practical necessity.

Commonly, public parking is controlled through parking regulations andprohibitions that permit parking on a first-come, first-served basis,with few exceptions, such as allowed by special permit. However,allowing users to locate on-street parking on a first-come, first-servedbasis can create congestion on the streets as drivers slow down to lookfor available parking, wait for parked cars to leave a parking spot, andstop to read parking restrictions posted on signs associated with someon-street parking spots. Further congestion is experienced as parkinggarages or parking lots become full and drivers are forced to look forempty on-street spaces or wait for an empty space in the lot or garage.Additionally, users can become frustrated looking for an availableparking space and may be discouraged from visiting areas in whichparking is difficult to locate.

Providing reservation systems that allow users to place a reservationfor a parking space and identifying available spaces can help alleviatemany of the problems and frustrations associated with parking. Forinstance, SFPark collects and distributes information to driversdetailing available parking. Wireless sensors detect when parkingavailability in real-time. Based on the detected availability, parkingprices are adjusted to reduce parking demand in areas with a high volumeof occupied spaces and increase demand in areas where parking is readilyavailable. However, there is no guarantee that a parking space willstill be available by the time a driver reaches the space. For example,another driver may see the space and decide to park before the driver towhom the space was identified can park. Additionally, parking spacesthat are more preferable to the user can become available while thedriver is en route to the identified parking space; however, the drivermay be unaware of the availability if he fails to conduct a furthersearch for available spaces.

Therefore, there is a need for more efficiently directing users to theidentified available parking spots, allowing reservation, and ensuringthat the spaces are available to reduce congestion on the streets and toimprove the experience of drivers wishing to park.

SUMMARY

An embodiment provides a computer-implemented system and method forproviding available parking spaces. A plurality of parking spaces areeach associated with a hold time during which that parking space is heldfor a reserved vehicle. Shorter hold times are assigned to those parkingspaces associated with desirable parking variables and longer hold timesare assigned to those parking spaces with less desirable parkingvariables. A request for parking is received from a user. The hold timefor each parking space identified as available is applied to an arrivaltime of the user at that parking space. One of the available parkingspaces with the hold time greater than the arrival time of the user isidentified based on the request. Prior to departure of the user from theavailable parking space, a time delay is introduced during which theavailable parking space occupied by the user is made available only todrivers that physically approach the space upon departure of the user,and is not available for reservation.

Still other embodiments of the present invention will become readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, wherein is described embodiments of the invention by way ofillustrating the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention.As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and differentembodiments and its several details are capable of modifications invarious obvious respects, all without departing from the spirit and thescope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and detaileddescription are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not asrestrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a computer-implemented system forspontaneously identifying and directing users to available parkingspaces, in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the parking services ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an illustration showing, by way of example, a smart parkingdevice with a vehicle sensor and parking availability indicator for usein the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing a method for spontaneously identifyingand directing users to available parking spaces, in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing, by way of example, toolsfor determining parking occupancy.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing, by way of example, a process forselecting one or more available parking spaces for providing to a user.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing, by way of example, a process fordetermining an estimated arrival time of a user.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram showing, by way of example, travelcharacteristics for use in determining an estimated arrival time of auser.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram showing, by way of example, a process foridentifying and offering alternative available parking spaces.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In areas that are overpopulated or that have minimal parking, locatingavailable parking, such as in a lot or garage, or on-street parking canbe difficult. Motorists, urban residents, commercial drivers,out-of-town visitors, and other parties that use or rely upon publicparking often drive around looking for available parking until a spaceis found or until that individual gives up. Drivers can become easilyfrustrated looking for an available parking space, while creatingcongestion and pollution by aimlessly driving around looking for anavailable parking space. If a driver becomes too frustrated, he may bediscouraged from later visiting areas where parking is difficult tolocate. Identifying and directing users to available parking spots canassist in alleviating congestion, pollution, and frustration.

Locating available parking spaces, allowing users to book reservations,and providing directions can occur through a network of mobile computingdevices, smart parking devices, and parking services. FIG. 1 is a blockdiagram showing a computer-implemented system 10 for spontaneouslyidentifying and directing users to available parking spaces inaccordance with one embodiment. Parking, whether controlled by localgovernment or privately owned, and regardless of whether curbside, on adriveway, in cutouts in front of a driveway, within a parking lot, or inother physical locations will henceforth be called “on-street parking”or simply, “parking.”

A suite of parking services 12 is provided through one or more servers11, which are located within a network of smart parking devices 13 a-b,sensors 14 a-c, and parking services kiosks 19. The parking services 12are account-based and enable motorists and other users to determine theavailability of, reserve, and efficiently use parking, as well asreceive directions to the available parking, as further described belowin detail beginning with reference to FIG. 4. Users can interface withthe parking services 12 remotely over a network, such as the Internet,using a user device through a wired or wireless connection. The userdevices can include notebook or tablet computers 15, smart telephones 16and similar personal mobile electronic devices, and on-boardnavigational or informational devices 17, such as GPS-enabled devices.The parking devices 13 a-b and parking services kiosks 19 also have userinterfaces that interact with the parking services, as described belowwith reference to FIG. 2.

The parking devices 13 a-b and parking services kiosks 19 are eachassociated with one or more parking spaces and allow motorists toreserve or transact on-street parking through the parking servicesserver 11. Herein after, a user, motorist, and driver have the sameintended meaning, unless otherwise indicated. Each parking device 13 a-bcan include a physical parking availability indicator (not shown),either directly interfaced with the parking device 13 a-b or remotelyconnected through the parking services server 11. Physical parkingavailability indicators audibly or visually signal parking availabilityto motorists. In a further embodiment, the parking availabilityindicators are virtual and are provided electronically to motoristsusing their mobile devices. The parking availability indicators arefurther discussed below with reference to FIG. 3. Finally, each parkingspace can have a sensor 14 a-c that determines whether a parking spaceis occupied by a motor vehicle, either directly interfaced with theparking device 13 a-c or remotely connected through the parking servicesserver 11.

The sensors 14 a-c can be used to determine whether a parking space isavailable or not. In one embodiment, a parking space is determined to beavailable when the space is unoccupied, such that no vehicle is detectedto reside in the space. In contrast, a parking space is unavailable whena vehicle is detected to be present in the parking space. Adetermination of the availability, or unavailability, of a parking spaceis transmitted from the parking device or sensor itself to the parkingservices server in real time. The available parking spaces near adestination of the user can be provided to that user in reply to arequest for available parking, as further described below with referenceto FIGS. 4 and 6. The user can transmit the parking request to theparking services server 11 via one or more mobile devices 15-17. Therequest can include a destination of the user, as well as the user'spreference of parking characteristics, such as a duration of parkingneeded, desired price or price range of the parking, site of theparking, such as along a street or in a garage, and type of the parking,such as back in angle parking or parallel parking. Other parkingcharacteristics are possible. In one embodiment, the user preferencescan be stored in a user record associated with an account of the userand maintained by a database (not shown) interconnected with the parkingservices server 11.

Once received, the request is processed and one or more availableparking spaces at or near the user's destination are identified. Thenumber of available spaces can be reduced based on the user preferencesby keeping only those available spaces that satisfy at least onepreference. Subsequently, at least one of the identified availableparking spaces can be transmitted to the user via the mobile device15-17 with a reservation offer. The parking spaces to be transmitted canbe selected based on an estimated arrival time of the user, as furtherdescribed below with reference to FIG. 7. Upon receipt of thereservation offer, the user can decide whether he will reserve the spaceto prevent the space from becoming occupied prior to his arrival. In oneembodiment, directions to the reserved space can be provided to theuser. However, in a further embodiment, the directions can be providedregarding of whether a reservation was made, but the space may not beavailable by the time the user arrives if the space is not reserved.Additionally, while the user in en route to the available space, anotherspace that is more desirable to the user may become available. Thisdesirable space can be offered to the user and if reserved, thereservation of the previous space is cancelled.

The parking services 12 and associated parking devices 13 a-b andparking services kiosks 19, as well as mobile devices 15-17, whereapplicable, implement network security protocols to ensure securecommunications. As necessary different secure communications schemes andlevels can be applied over all communications. For example, public keycryptography could be used in various secure protocols to protectcommunications between all system elements. The parking servicesidentifies available parking spaces for providing to the user, booksreservations, and provides directions to the available spaces. FIG. 2 isa functional block diagram 20 showing the parking services 21 of FIG. 1.The parking services 21 are implemented in software and execution of thesoftware is performed as a series of process or method modules or steps.The parking services 12 may be executed on one or more computer systems,which may singly or in combination logically constitute a particularform of “server.” For instance, in one embodiment, a Web server deliversWeb pages and content to Web-based clients, such as Web browsersexecuting on mobile devices 15, 16, 17. The Web server can beimplemented using more than one computer, depending upon the load.

Similarly, the provisioning of the system functionality is dividedbetween the one or more servers and the various end-user devices withwhich a motorist directly interfaces, such as parking devices 21,parking services kiosks 19, and mobile devices 15, 16, 17. Programmaticduties are divided between the software that runs in each end-userdevice and the servers. The division of labor balances several competinggoals, which includes a low power requirement for the end-user device,fast user interaction response, and keeping end-user device programmingrelatively simple.

Additionally, the Web server may be supported by caching servers thatcache the Web content and help reduce bandwidth consumption and systemload. The caching servers may also be implemented using more than onecomputer. System state for the parking services 12 is kept in a databaseserver, which keeps track of the state of all of the parking devices 21,parking services kiosks 19, and sensors 24, all of the parking accounts,including the mobile devices 15, 16, 17 all of the permits, all of theparking citations, all of the billings, all of the parking policies, andso forth. The database server may be implemented using more than onecomputer. As well, a suite of services offered by the parking servicescan also be fielded by through cloud computing. Henceforth, forsimplicity, the set of services will be discussed without regard to thenature of the implementing servers or the underlying physical topologyof the supporting computers, except as specifically noted.

At any given time, several coordinated processes execute across theservers. Depending upon the scale of the system, several computers mayneed to work together to carry out each of the services. The servicescan include managing parking regulations, tracking parking spaceoccupancy, identification services 22 for determining parking spaceavailability based on the parking regulations and parking spaceoccupancy, reservation services 23 for booking reservations, anddirection services 24 for providing directions to the available parkingspaces in real time. The parking regulations can override adetermination of whether a parking space is occupied or not. Forexample, a space may not be occupied, but parking can still beprohibited due to a regulation that prevents parking after 10 p.m. andwould be rendered unavailable. In one example, a parking space can bedetermined to be occupied, at a particular time, when a vehicle islocated within the space or when a motorist or driver reserves one ofthe parking spaces in advance for the given time or on-site as a form of“instant” parking reservation, according to commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No.8,816,879, issued Aug. 26, 2014, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

Once available spaces are identified, users with parking accounts 26 canmake parking reservations. The parking accounts 26 are maintained instorage 25 coupled to the parking services server 21 provide a parkingidentity to motorists and other users, enabling transaction-basedapproaches to reserving, billing, and managing parking. A parkingidentity can be established through a parking account 26. A parkingidentification card can be issued for a parking account 26.Alternatively, a credit card, driver's license, telephone calling card,or motor vehicle license plate number could be associated with a parkingaccount 26 in lieu of a parking identification card. The parkingaccounts 26 can be express, temporary, or implicit parking accounts. Anexpress parking account is the norm, whereas a temporary parking accountis not permanently stored and an implicit parking account is generallycreated for a single parking event.

Requests 30 for available parking can be received by the parkingservices server 21. Additionally, the parking services server 21receives service data 20, which can include real-time parkinginformation that can be used to determine parking availability, such asparking accounts and sensor data. A status 28 of the parking spaces canbe stored in the storage 25 for identifying available spaces fortransmitting to the user. The available parking spaces can be offeredfor reservation and the reservation services can include booking areservation for a user regardless of a type of the user, or userspecific reservations, including driver services that assist motoristsin reserving a parking space or other needs, as described in U.S. Pat.No. 8,799,037, to Stefik, issued Aug. 5, 2014, the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated by reference; resident services that cater to theparticular needs of urban denizens, as described in U.S. Pat. No.8,671,014 to Stefik, issued Mar. 11, 2015, the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference; merchant services that enable localbusinesses to obtain parking for customers and related needs, asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,671,002, to Stefik, issued Mar. 11, 2015,the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference; commercialservices offering commercial parking reservations through flexibleloading zones, as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2009/0322563, to Stefik, published Dec. 31, 2009, pending, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference; and parkingauthority services.

The requests 30 for available parking for parking are received inreal-time from users and the overall status of parking availability iscontinually revised through the parking service data 29. Availablespaces are transmitted to the user via the user device, as requested bythe user. Once received, the user can reserve one of the available spotsvia a reservation 27, which is transmitted to the parking servicesserver 21 and stored in the storage 25.

As required, user notices 31, parking alerts 31, availability indicators32, and other information are sent out, either through a physicaldevice, such as via a parking indicator or the display on a parkingdevice, or by electronic transmission to user's mobile devices 15, 16,17. Other input data or output information are possible. The usernotices and alerts 31 can include reservation offers, notices ofnewly-available parking spaces, canceled reservations, revisedreservations, or a change in parking regulations, as well as other typeof information. The availability indicators 32 can be located on or nearsmart parking devices or parking services kiosks to identify a parkingstatus of one or more parking spaces.

The availability indicators 32 communicate with the parking servicesserver 21 to display whether one or more associated parking spaces areavailable, reserved, or about to be reserved. FIG. 3 is an illustration40 showing, by way of example, a smart parking device 41 with a vehiclesensor 42 and parking availability indicator 43 for use in the system 10of FIG. 1. Each parking device 41 is interconnected over a network withthe parking services server. The parking device 41 can be networked intothe parking services through a wired or wireless connection. In thesimplest case, each parking device 41 serves a single parking space 44in a one-to-one relationship. Alternatively, each parking device 41could serve a plurality of parking spaces 44 in a one-to-manyrelationship. For instance, at curbside, one parking device 41 couldserve two adjacent parking spaces 44. In a parking lot with facingparking spaces, a parking device 41 could serve two pairs of facingparking spaces 44. Finally, several parking devices 41 could serve amultiplicity of parking spaces 44 in a many-to-many relationship;motorists would enter a number painted on the pavement or otheridentifier that identifies the parking space 44 that they plan to useinto one of the parking devices 41.

In a further embodiment, parking services kiosks 19 (shown in FIG. 1)are located nearby to support interactive transactions for one or moreparking spaces 44. The kiosks 19 need not be assigned to a specific setof parking spaces and can instead be conveniently distributed tomaximize usage within a municipality. A user can simply use anyavailable kiosk 19 to reserve parking or pay for use of a parking space,so if a line of waiting users forms at one kiosk 19, the user can moveto another available kiosk 19 and avoid further delay. Acoustic andvisual feedback could be provided to the user at the kiosk tointeractively transact parking services. The kiosk could operate throughdedicated software, or execute Web-based applications remotely servedfrom the parking services server 11. Other forms of kiosks andkiosk-based functionality are possible.

Each parking space 44, regardless of whether the space is managed by aparking device or parking services kiosk, can be equipped with a sensor42 for determining whether a vehicle is present in that parking space.The sensor 42 could be locally connected to a nearby parking device 41or parking services kiosk 19, or remotely connected to the parkingservices server 11, which then facilitates communication between thesensor 42 and the nearby parking device 41. The sensor 42 can benetworked through a wired or wireless connection. The sensor 42 can belocated in a puck or similar robust enclosure fixed onto the surface ofthe street inside of or proximate to the parking space 44, or could beattached to the street curb. Alternatively, each sensor 42 could beincorporated into a parking device 41 using, for instance, an acoustic-,camera-, or video-based sensor. Further, like the parking devices 41,the sensors 42 can be configured in a one-to-one, one-to-many, ormany-to-many relationship with a set of parking spaces 44. For instance,one video-based sensor 42 could be positioned to simultaneously monitorseveral parking spaces 44.

Finally, each parking space 44 can be equipped with a parkingavailability indicator 43. The parking indicator 43 can be locallyconnected to a nearby parking device 41 or remotely connected to theparking services server, which then facilitates communication betweenthe parking indicator 43 and the nearby parking device 41. The parkingindicator 43 can be networked through a wired or wireless connection.Analogous to traffic lights that indicate when vehicles may enter intointersections, parking indicators 43 indicate when vehicles may useparking spaces 44. Like the parking devices 41 and sensors 42, theparking indicators 43 can be configured in a one-to-one, one-to-many, ormany-to-many relationship with a set of parking spaces 44.

Parking indicators 43 can provide physical, typically audible or visual,or digital “virtual” parking availability indications. A physicalparking indicator 43 can be in a standalone enclosure or located on aparking device 41 or on a conventional parking meter. Alternatively, aparking indicator can be located in a low-profile enclosure at the curbor on the edge of the curb. A visual parking indicator can include, forinstance, one or more lights or a dynamic sign, while, a digital parkingindicator (not shown) can be broadcast wirelessly to nearby motorvehicles from a parking device 41 or other broadcasting source, such asa wireless transmitter locally connected to a parking device 41 orparking services kiosk 19, or remotely connected to the parking servicesserver 11. A digital parking indicator could also be broadcast over apublically-accessible network, such as the Internet, and delivered tousers electronically. For example, portable or mobile devices withglobal positioning system (GPS) or other location-sensing capabilitiescould retrieve parking status indicators concerning nearby parkingspaces. Finally, in one embodiment, a parking indicator 43 is providedfor each parking space 44 and is incorporated into a nearby parkingdevice 41. Alternatively, a parking indicator 43 can be provided for agroup of parking spaces 44 with indications signifying which spaces areavailable.

The parking indicators 43 tell motorists the status of a parking space24. For instance, a parking space can have the status of “available,”“parking,” “unavailable,” “no parking,” “about to be reserved,” or“about to be offered for reservation.” Other parking statuses arepossible. In a further embodiment, the status can indicate that theparking space is reserved as a loading zone, as further described incommonly-owned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0089015, toStefik, published Mar. 27, 2014, pending, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference. After the delivery vehicle leaves, theservice allocates a different status to the parking space, such as“available” or “unavailable.”

The parking indicators 43 can provide a visual status indication, suchas through color-coded indicators located on a parking device 41. Theindicators can be implemented using incandescent lights, light emittingdiodes, reflective surfaces, and similar materials that may only requirelow power, or be unpowered. Under one color coding scheme, a solid redindicator means that parking space 44 is not available at the moment dueto a reservation, for example, while, a solid yellow indicator meansthat the parking space 44 is only available for a short time period,such as less than two hours, and a solid green indicator means that theparking space 44 is available for a long time period, such as two hoursor longer. Analogous to blue markings for handicapped parking, a solidblue indicator can mean that a special permit, such as issued tohandicapped motorists, is required. In a further embodiment, the colorscheme can be extended beyond showing availability to indicating thatthe time allotted to park has expired, such as by displaying a solid redindicator to the parked motorist. Other color-coded lighted indicatorsare also possible.

In one embodiment, the choice of colors and their assigned meanings canbe varied. For example, one variation might use blue, rather than red,to indicate that a space is reserved. Other variations might useblinking colors, such as blinking red, to indicate a parking violation,blinking yellow and blue to indicate a reserved loading zone, and redwith blinking blue to indicate a parking space reserved for a guest.Still other color variations are possible.

Alternatively, visual labels or icons could be presented in lieu ofstatic color-coded indicators. For instance, a label or icon couldsignal to a motorist that the time has expired or that the parking spaceis reserved. The amount of time available at a parking space 44 couldalso be shown through a label or icon. Similarly, a visual label or iconcould clarify what type of permit is required to park, such as ahandicapped parking permit. Other visual labels or icons are alsopossible.

As well, color-coded lighted indicators could be combined with flashingindicators. A red flashing indicator could be used to indicate a parkingviolation or expired time. A yellow and blue flashing indicator could beused to signal a reserved loading zone available for a short timeperiod. Finally, a red and blue flashing indicator could be used toindicate a parking space reserved for a guest motorist.

Other colors, color combinations, and arrangements of solid, flashing,graduated, or adjusted lighted indicators could also be utilized asparking indicators. Similarly, indicators other than colors, such asshapes, positions, alphanumeric symbols, or icons, could be used todifferentiate states of parking availability. In one embodiment, colorand shape combinations similar to conventional traffic signs can beused. For example, to indicate the non-availability of a parking space44, a plain red octagonal shape or a red octagonal shape labeled withthe word “Stop” could be displayed. Alternatively, a circular shapelabeled with the word “Park” could be displayed with a diagonal linecrossing out the word “Park” to indicate no parking. Finally, the colorgreen could be used with a circle, the color yellow with a triangle, andthe color blue with a square, as used in some forms of traffic signage.

The parking device 41 can also display additional information todrivers. In one embodiment, each parking device 41 can have an indicatoror display 45, preferably located at the top of the device 41 to enhanceviewing by drivers, showing the time remaining in a parking period. In afurther embodiment, each parking device 41 can also include anadditional indicator or display 46 for presenting other informativedata, such as public service messages or advertising. When a car isparked in the parking space 44 associated with the parking device 41,the display 45 can provide the time remaining before parking expires.When the time has expired, the display 45 can transition to a redindicator, analogous to conventional parking meters. When the parkingspace 44 is available, the display 45 can show how much time is leftbefore any applicable time constraint is reached. For instance, anothermotorist may have separately reserved the parking space 44 through theparking services server 11, but the parking space 44 is otherwiseavailable up until the start time of the reservation. As well, parkingmay become unavailable due to scheduled street cleaning or other event.A color overlay could be provided over the time indication in thedisplay 45 to assist user understanding.

The parking devices 41, whether standalone or configured through a kiosk19, interface motorists and other users with the parking services server11 to locate a different parking space or to reserve a parking space,which can include the parking space associated with the parking deviceor a different parking space, such as described in detail with referenceto commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 8,799,037, issued Aug. 5, 2015, which ishereby incorporated by reference. The motorists can directly interfacewith the parking devices 41 and kiosk 19 or alternatively, the parkingdevice 41 or kiosk 19 can accept wireless transmissions, for instance,using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or Wi-Max protocols, or wired transmissions ofthe user's identification from a mobile device 15-17, such as a smartmobile telephone, notebook or tablet computer, or similar personalelectronic device.

Motorists and users can also communicate directly with the parkingservices server via a mobile device, rather than through the parkingdevice or kiosk. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing a method forspontaneously identifying and directing users to available parkingspaces, in accordance with one embodiment. A user who wishes to locateavailable parking or reserve a parking space can submit a request via amobile computing device, such as a cell phone or tablet, prior toembarking to a destination or en route to their destination. If enroute, a passenger may communicate with the parking services via amobile computing device, the user may pull over to the side of the roadto enter a request, or the request can be verbally entered whiledriving. Other times for submitting a request for available parkingspaces are also possible.

The request can include a destination of the user, a date and arrivaltime, and parking preferences of the user, including closest distance,type of parking, parking site, or fee, as well as other parkingcharacteristics. Other data for including in the request is possible.The destination can include a location of the destination, such ascoordinates, or street names and numbers; or a destination name, such asRavenna Park, Seattle Public Library or Olive and Grape restaurant. In afurther embodiment, the parking characteristics are already associatedwith an account of the user and can be automatically retrieved forprocessing with the request after the user logs in to his account.

The request is transmitted from the mobile device and received (block51) by the parking services server, which tracks one or more parkingspaces. The tracking of parking spaces can be continuous to identifyavailable spaces in real time. Specifically, the parking services firstlocates (block 52) parking spaces near the destination and second,determines whether any of those parking spaces are available (block 53)based on parking availability data from sensors or reservation andpayment data. A distance threshold can be applied to one or more parkingspaces to determine whether a space is at or near the destination. Thedistance threshold can be set by the user, a municipality, or as adefault, as well as by others.

In one example, a user is looking for available parking near the SeattlePublic Library in downtown Seattle. Twenty-three spaces are identifiedas being available in downtown Seattle; however, a threshold of athree-block radius of the library can be used to identify the closestavailable spaces. Three available parking spaces are identified to bewithin a three-block radius of the user's destination. A first space islocated one block from the library, in a parking garage, and has a $1.50fee. A second space is located two blocks from the library along astreet, allows back in angle parking, and is free. The third space isalso located two blocks from the library, but in a parking garage, andis free. One or more of the available parking spaces can be selected forproviding to the user.

An available parking space is considered to be unoccupied. Occupancy, ornon-occupancy, can be determined based on a presence or absence of avehicle in a parking space, based on estimated departure times, whichcan be determined from pending reservation data or payment data, asfurther described below with reference to FIG. 5, or based on acombination of the presence or absence of a vehicle and reservationdata. When occupancy is determined based on departure times of parkedvehicles, all spaces with no reservations scheduled during or paymentdata received for the estimated arrival time of the user can beconsidered unoccupied and thus, available to the user. However, there isno guarantee that the space will be available since a previous user mayoverstay his reservation or fail to pay for the correct amount of timeneeded. Thus, in one embodiment, the available spaces include only thosespaces that do not have a car present at the time the user request isreceived to ensure that the space is available when the user arrives.

One or more of the available parking spaces can be selected and providedto the user with a reservation offer. The parking spaces provided to theuser can be selected (block 54) based on an estimated arrival time ofthe user. The arrival time can be estimated based on one or more travelcharacteristics, including distance of the user from the destination,speed of the user during travel, and traffic conditions during travel ofthe user. If the user is estimated to arrive at one of the availablespaces within a particular amount of time, as defined by a threshold,that space is offered to the user, as further described below withreference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

The number of available parking spaces provided to the user can bereduced by selecting only those spaces that satisfy one or more userparking preferences, such as closest distance, type of parking, parkingsite, or fee, as well as other parking characteristics. Type of parkingincludes parallel, back-in angle, straight on, angle, or back inparking, as well as other types of parking, while parking site,including on-street, pool, lot, or garage parking. Other kinds ofparking sites are possible.

The available parking spaces can be selected based on a number ofcharacteristics satisfied or based on a ranking of the characteristicsassociated with the space. When ranked, the characteristics can beordered by user preference and those parking spaces with high rankedcharacteristics can be selected. Returning to the example above, none ofthe spaces completely satisfy all of the user's preference. Thus, thesecond space can be selected for presenting to the user since this spaceis associated with characteristics that satisfy the most of the user'spreferences. Alternatively, or in addition to, the user may rankdistance of the space as the most important characteristic since heprefers to park in those parking spaces that are closest to hisdestination. In this embodiment, the first available parking space,which is one block away from the library, is selected. In a furtherembodiment, more than one available parking space can be selected forproviding to the user. The available parking spaces can be selected asthose that best satisfy the users preferences and a maximum number ofparking spaces can be set by the user or as a default.

Upon selecting one or more available parking spaces, a reservation offeris generated and sent (block 55) to the user with the selected spaces.The offer can include the parking characteristics associated with eachspace, including distance, location, type, and fee. The reservationoffer asks the user whether he would like to reserve one of theavailable parking spaces provided with the offer. The reservation offercan be sent via a Web page associated with the parking services, SMStext messaging, email, Instant Messaging, or via a telephone call. Ifthe user does not want to reserve one of the available spaces (block56), communication with the parking services ends. In a furtherembodiment, directions to one or more of the available spaces canoptionally be provided (block 57) to prevent the user from drivingaround looking for an available parking space and to reduce congestion.

If the user wishes to place a reservation (block 56), the reservationcan be made via a Web page associated with the parking services, SMStext messaging, email, Instant Messaging, or telephone. Additionally,payment for the reservation can be rendered concurrently with placementof the reservation via the same transmission medium or subsequent to thereservation placement via the same or different transmission medium. Thereservation can be booked to begin at the estimated arrival time of theuser or at a different time, such as when provided by the user.Alternatively, the reservation can start at the time of the request toensure that another car does not park in the unoccupied space prior tothe user's arrival.

After the reservation is complete, the parking services transmitconfirmation of the reservation to a parking device or parking serviceskiosk associated with the space to indicate via a parking indicator thatthe space is now reserved. In one embodiment, the parking space can bereserved from the time the reservation is made, even though the user hasnot yet arrived at the space, to prevent others from parking before theuser arrives. The parking indicator can include a visual indication,such as one or more lights or a sign with text, labels or icons. Thelights can be different colors to indicate that a status of the space isreserved and unavailable to other drivers, as described above withreference to FIG. 2. In addition, the lights can blink or change colorsto indicate parking status. Furthermore, a dynamic display can include amessage relaying the parking space status as “reserved” or “no parking,”indicating that no vehicle is to park in the space and if a vehicle doespark in the space, the driver may receive a ticket or other infraction,or have his car towed to free the space for the reserving user.

In a further embodiment, the reserved parking space can remain availableuntil the user is estimated to arrive or until just before the user'sarrival, which allows another user to temporarily park in the reservedspace until the scheduled user arrives. The parking indicator candisplay one or more different colored lights, which can be solid, blinkor flash to indicate that a parking space is available for parking.Further, a dynamic sign indicator can include a message that the parkingspace is “available” or “has parking.” Additionally, a status of “aboutto be reserved or offered for reservation” can be used to indicate thatonly a short period of time for parking remains before the space will bereserved or a previously scheduled reservation begins.

Directions to the reserved parking space can optionally be provided(block 57) via the user's mobile computing device or via a globalpositioning system installed in the user's vehicle. The directions caninclude static step-by-step directions or dynamic navigation via GPS toguide the user to the reserved space. In a further embodiment, thedirections can be provided via dynamic street signs, which can bepositioned at intersections, such as above the street or on a streetcorner, to instruct users how to reach the available parking, as furtherdescribed in detail in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 9,064,417, toSmullin, issued Jun. 23, 2015, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

While en route to the reserved parking space, additional parking may beoffered to the user upon a determination of availability or the user canbe automatically rerouted to a different space. For instance, spacesthat are located closer to the user's destination, are cheaper than, orhave more preferred parking characteristics of the user than thereserved space, may be offered. If found, the newly-available parkingspace can be sent to the user with a reservation offer (block 58) and ifreserved, directions to the newly-available space can be provided to theuser. Redirecting users to different available spaces is furtherdiscussed below with reference to FIG. 9. Once the new reservation ismade, the previous reservation is canceled and a status of thepreviously reserved parking space is changed to “available.”

Once parked, the user can pay for the available space, if no payment waspreviously provided, via the user device, parking device, or parkingkiosk. The parking space is now considered occupied and removed from thelist of available parking spaces, if not previously removed upon makinga reservation.

Occupancy of the parking spaces can be determined in real-time to ensurethat a space is available and to prevent double booking. As describedabove, occupancy of a parking space can be determined based on apresence or absence of a vehicle in the space, pending parkingreservations, or payment data. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram 60showing, by way of example, tools for determining parking occupancy 61.Occupancy of a particular parking space can be determined via one ormore of inductive loop sensors 62, cameras 63, scheduled reservations64, payment data 65, or magnetic sensors 66, as well as by other meansfor determining parking. A parking space is determined to be occupied,and unavailable, when a car is parked in the space, when the space hasbeen reserved, or when the space has received payment for a particulartime. In contrast, a parking space is available when unoccupied and ifparking regulations allow for parking at the time in question.

To determine occupancy, each parking space can include an inductive loopsensor 62 with wire coils that can be embedded into the street of theparking space. Each inductive loop sensor 62 determines occupancy, suchas by detecting whether a car is parked in the corresponding parkingspace via inductance. Alternatively, cameras 63 and magnetic 66 sensorscan each be used to watch one or more parking spaces and detect wheneach of the watched spaces is occupied by a vehicle. The cameras 63 andmagnetic 66 sensors can be positioned on a lamp post, on individualparking meters, or by multi-space parking meters to monitor one or moreparking spaces. A sensor 62, 66 or camera 63 can be installed in eachparking space in a one-to-one fashion. Alternatively, each sensor 62, 66or camera 63 can be configured in a one-to-many or many-to-manyrelationship with a set of parking spaces. For instance, onecamera-based sensor could be positioned to simultaneously monitorseveral parking spaces.

Combined use of the parking devices and parking services kiosks can alsobe used to monitor the parking spaces and determine occupancy. Forexample, the parking services kiosks can be used to manage a parkingpool, which includes a plurality of parking spaces that can bephysically adjacent to each other or disbursed and can be managed as agroup, rather than individually for each space, while a parking deviceis used to manage one of the parking spaces in the pool during set daysand times during which that parking space does not participate as partof the parking pool and is instead used as an individually reservable ormanaged parking space. Outside of the set days and times, the parkingdevice either mirrors the group parking operations and parkingindicators of the parking services kiosks, or is inactive.

Payment data 65 for the parking spaces can also be used to determineoccupancy. The payment data 65 can be obtained from the user devices,parking devices, or parking services kiosks to identify which or howmany parking spaces have been paid for in advance and in some cases, forhow long the parking spaces will be occupied. For instance, a firstparking device has received payment for two hours of parking, while asecond parking device has received no payment. Thus, the parking spaceassociated with the second parking meter is determined to be availableand can be offered to the user, while the first space is considered tobe occupied and unavailable to other users.

In a further embodiment, occupancy factors can be applied to account foruncertainties, such as handicapped placards that allow for parkingwithout payment, broken payment sensors, noisy or malfunctioning orvandalized occupancy sensors, or metered spaces that are illegally orotherwise occupied without payment, such as by delivery vehicles, whichcan be managed via just-in-time loading zone parking, as described inU.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0089015, published Mar. 27,2014. The factors can be used to adjust the number of available parkingspaces determined via the parking data by, for example, an average ratioof unpaid occupied spaces to paid occupied spaces to provide a bestestimate of available parking spaces. Other examples for considering theoccupancy factors and uncertainties are possible. Logs of the parkingspaces and corresponding payment data can be maintained in real-time orpredetermined times, and stored. The payment data can be maintainedindividually by each parking device or centrally, such as by the parkingkiosk. Additionally, occupancy of a parking space can be determinedusing reservation data 64, such as when a parking space is reserved, butpayment is not made in advance. The reservation data indicates a starttime at which a parking space is to be held for a user and thus, can beconsidered unavailable.

The occupancy data is used to determine available parking spaces fromwhich one or more spaces can be selected for providing to a user. FIG. 6is a flow diagram showing, by way of example, a process 70 for selectingone or more available parking spaces. A location associated with thedestination of the user is determined (block 71), if not alreadyprovided. For instance, in the above example, the user identifies hisdestination only as the Seattle Public Library with out providingfurther information, such as an address, street name, zip code, orlocation coordinates, which can be determined by GPS. Meanwhile, anaddress or street name can be determined via a database of places andaddresses.

A location of each available parking space is also identified (block72), such as by looking up the desired information in a database ofparking spaces, each associated with parking characteristics, includinglocation, type, site, or fee. The locations of the user and eachavailable parking space are used to determine (block 73) an estimatedarrival time of the user at each space. The estimated arrival time canbe determined for one or more routes from the user's destination to anavailable parking space based on travel characteristics, such as route,traffic, distance, and speed, as further discussed below with referenceto FIGS. 7 and 8. For instance, an available parking space is locatednear the Seattle Public Library and can be reached via Interstate 5 orEastlake Avenue. I-5 is a major highway that runs through Seattle and isusually congested during rush hour; however, Eastlake Avenue is anarterial on which less vehicles pass through. The estimated arrival timecan be determined for the I-5 route and the Eastlake Avenue route todetermine which will allow the user to arrive at the available parkingspace the fastest. Subsequently, the fastest route can be recommended tothe user.

An arrival time threshold is applied to one or more of the estimatedarrival times determined for the user (block 74). Each parking space canbe associated with an arrival time threshold or alternatively, a singlethreshold may be used for two or more spaces. The threshold can indicatethe amount of time that a space will be held for the user while en routeto that space. For instance, an available space in which no vehicle isparked may be associated with a 10 minute arrival threshold, such thatif the user is estimated to arrive within 10 minutes from the time ofthe request, the space will be selected and provided to the user.However, if the user is estimated to arrive later than 10 minutes, thespace will not be offered to the user for reservation. The arrivalthreshold works to ensure that reserved parking spaces remain emptywhile the users are en route, while considering that other users areprevented from using the space during the hold and should not beunnecessarily held for long periods of time.

If the estimated arrival time of the user does not satisfy (block 75)the threshold, no reservation offer is sent to the user for theavailable parking space. Meanwhile, if the estimated arrival timesatisfies (block 75) the threshold, the corresponding available parkingspace can be provided to the user with a reservation offer (block 76).

The estimated arrival time of a user can be based on, for example,travel characteristics, which cover travel conditions of a route alongwhich the user may travel. FIG. 7 is a flow diagram 80 showing, by wayof example, a process for determining an estimated arrival time. Atravel duration of a trip from a location of the user to the destinationis determined (block 81). The travel duration can be measured in timeincrements, such as minutes, hours, days, or a combination of minutes,hours, and days. The duration can be determined using predeterminedtimes that are associated with a particular route from a user locationto a user destination. For example, a database can be interconnected tothe parking services server for storing travel routes, which are eachassociated with predetermined times for travel along the route.Additionally, the predetermined times for a route can be determined viaa third party, such as Mapquest or Google Maps. Next, a departure timeof the user is determined (block 82), such as by requesting the user toprovide the departure time. In a further embodiment, the user may havealready begun his trip to the destination and the time at which theuser's location is determined can be designated as the departure time.

Subsequently, the predetermined destination time can be optionallyadjusted (block 83) by one or more travel characteristics as describedabove to increase or decrease the estimated arrival time of the user tomore accurately reflect the actual arrival time. FIG. 8 is a functionalblock diagram 90 showing, by way of example, travel characteristics 91for use in determining an estimated arrival time of a user. The travelcharacteristics can include route 92, traffic 93, distance 94, speed 95,speed limit 96, and detours 97. Route covers, for instance, the bestroute to the parking space. Other travel characteristics are possible.

The traffic travel characteristic 93 considers traffic conditions duringthe time of the user's travels to his destination. For instance, in rushhour traffic, the estimated arrival time may be later than when the usertravels during non-rush hour times. The distance characteristic 94considers the distance between the user's current location when therequest is made and the available parking space. Longer distances canrequire more travel time and usually, a later estimated arrival time,whereas shorter distances are associated with earlier estimated arrivaltimes. The speed characteristic 95 identifies how fast traffic is movingand specifically, the user. A faster speed is associated with an earlierestimated arrival time, while a slower speed can increase the estimatedarrival time. In a further embodiment, the speed limit 96 can be used todetermine the estimated arrival time, such as when the current speed oftraffic is unavailable. Detour characteristics 97 can be used todetermine whether a user may be delayed in arriving to the availableparking space due to any detours in a selected route to the space.Detours can increase the estimated arrival time. The travelcharacteristics can be selected by a city, state, or other municipalityin which the system is used or can be set as a default.

Application of the estimated arrival time threshold assists in managingthe available parking spaces and dispersing the spaces for use.Specifically, the threshold allows a user to reserve those availableparking spaces with no vehicle present to ensure the space remainsavailable, while preventing unnecessary holding of the space for a userwho will not arrive for a long period of time. Returning to the abovelibrary example, Braylon and Kiyomi are on their way to the SeattlePublic Library (SPL) in downtown Seattle to do some research for a grouppresentation. Braylon is driving and Kiyomi is sitting in the passengerside. They leave the University of Washington (UW) at 4:20 p.m., whichis during rush hour in Seattle and as they leave, Kiyomi sends a requestwith to the parking services server for available parking near thelibrary. As described above, three spaces are identified as available:the first space is located one block from the library, in a parkinggarage, and has a $1.50 fee; the second space is located two blocks fromthe library along a street, allows back in angle parking, and is free;and the third space is also located two blocks from the library, but ina parking garage, and is free. In this example, all the availableparking spaces are unoccupied, such that no vehicle is present and noreservations are pending.

The location of Braylon and Kiyomi is determined and used to calculatean estimated arrival time to each of the available parking spacesidentified. An initial arrival time for each of the available spaces isdetermined based on the distance of a route along which Braylon andKiyomi can travel to arrive at the available space and speed limitsalong the route. There are two possible routes for traveling from the UWto the SPL, the first along Eastlake and the second, on the highway.Estimated arrival times for both routes can be determined, but in thisexample, only the route along Eastlake will be considered. Further,since each of the three available parking spaces are within two blocksof each other, a single estimated arrival time is appropriate as thespaces are very close. However, if the parking spaces were further apartsuch that arrival at one space would take significantly longer, anestimated arrival time should be determined for each space. The initialarrival time can be obtained from a database interconnected to theparking services server in which routes are stored with estimated traveltime or from third party databases.

Without traffic and by complying with all speed limits, the time totravel, or the travel duration, from the UW to the SPL is 15 minutes.However, Braylon and Kiyomi are traveling during rush hour, during whichthe traffic is more congested and the speed is slower than the postedspeed limit due to the congestion. Accordingly, the initial travelduration of 15 minutes is adjusted to account for the rush hour traffic,which is determined to increase the travel time by three minutes for atotal time of 18 minutes. The estimated arrival time is then determinedby adding the adjusted travel duration of 18 minutes to the time of therequest at 4:20 p.m. Thus, Braylon and Kiyomi are estimated to arrive atthe available parking spaces at 4:38 p.m.

A first arrival time threshold of 17 minutes is applied to the first andsecond available spaces and a second arrival threshold of 20 minutes isapplied to the third available space to select those spaces forproviding to the user, Kiyomi. The threshold arrival times can differfor one or more spaces based on a popularity, cost, or location of thespace, as well as other variables associated with the space. Otherthreshold factors are possible. For example, since the first space iscloser to the library and more desirable, the threshold is shorter toavoid preventing other users, such as those physically near the space,from parking while reserving the space for Braylon and Kiyomi. SinceBraylon and Kiyomi are estimated to arrive in 18 minutes, only the thirdspace is offered for reservation since this space satisfies the 20minute arrival threshold.

In a further embodiment, the request can be made while in transit. Forexample, as Braylon is driving, Kiyomi sends the request five minutesinto the trip to the SPL. Thus, the estimated arrival time is dependenton their location at the time the request is made. Since they are fiveminutes into an initial arrival time of 15 minutes, the new initialarrival time is 10 minutes. Subsequently, the initial arrival time isadjusted to reflect travel through rush hour traffic. Braylon and Kiyomihave not yet hit the traffic so the three additional minutes asdetermined above for traffic is added to the initial arrival time tocalculate the estimated arrival time of 13 minutes. The adjusted arrivaltime satisfies the threshold for all three parking spaces, which areprovided with a reservation offer.

To ensure the user easily locates the available space, directions toselected or reserved available space can be provided. The directions canfollow the route identified and selected for determining the estimatedarrival time, as described above with reference to FIG. 7 or a differentroute. In one example, the user can select a particular route ofpreference. Alternatively, a route can be automatically selected basedon route characteristics, including distance, busyness, traffic, speed,and detours of the route. Other route characteristics are possible. Inone embodiment, directions can be provided to each user that hasindicated interest in receiving directions to a selected availablespace, regardless of whether the user has placed a reservation. However,in a further embodiment, the directions may only be provided to thoseusers who have placed a reservation.

As the user is en route to the parking space, additional parking spacesnear the user's destination may become available. One or more of thenewly-available parking spaces can be offered to the user, such as whena newly-available parking is closer to the user's destination than thereserved space. FIG. 9 is a flow diagram showing, by way of example, aprocess for identifying and offering alternative available parkingspaces. One or more newly-available parking spaces can be identified(block 101) while the user in en route to his destination. Parkingcharacteristics associated with the newly-available spaces can becompared (block 102) with at least one set of parking preferences for auser who has sent a request for available parking, and selected orreserved a parking space. The parking characteristics, can include aduration of parking needed, desired price or price range of the parking,parking site, such as on-street or in a garage, and type of the parking,such as back in angle parking or parallel parking, as described above indetail with reference to FIG. 8.

One or more of the newly-available parking spaces that satisfies more ofthe user's parking preferences than the previously selected availablespace or reserved space is selected (block 103). In one embodiment, theparking preferences can be ranked, such that a first ranked parkingcharacteristic is most important to the user, while the lower rankedcharacteristics are less important. A parking space that is most similarto the user's preferences can include one with characteristics that arehighest ranked or that share the highest number of characteristics incommon with the user's preferences.

Once selected, the newly-available space can be provided to the userwith a reservation offer (block 104). The user can determine whether hewould rather park in the newly-available space, rather than thepreviously reserved space, and if so, the user sends a request forreservation (block 105). When the newly-available space is reserved, thepreviously reserved space can be automatically released for providing toanother user. Once the reservation is processed, directions to thenewly-available space from the current location of the user can beoptionally provided (block 106). Subsequently, further parking spacescan optionally be offered (block 107) to the user as they becomeavailable before the user reaches his destination. Alternatively, theuser may not reserve (block 105) the newly-available space because he ishappy with the previously-identified space that may or may not bereserved, or the user wishes to park in the newly-identified spacewithout first reserving the spot. In a further embodiment, the user canbe automatically rerouted to the newly-available space, without sendinga reservation offer and receiving a reservation request. In either case,directions can be optionally provided (block 106) to the user to directhim to the newly-available space and different available spaces mayoptionally be offered (block 107).

Upon arrival at the available space, the user can park and pay for thespace, if not previously paid. When user is ready to leave the space,conflict can occur between an inbound vehicle that is physically waitingfor the space to become vacant and a remote user, possibly en route,that wishes to reserve the space. To avoid these types of conflicts, atime delay can be introduced before the parking space is determined tobe available for providing to a remote user who sends a request foravailable parking. For instance, returning to the above-identifiedexample, Braylon and Kiyomi have completed their research and are readyto leave. Once their car has left the space, a sensor determines thatthe parking space is available. Instead of immediately offering theavailable space to a remote user who is looking for an available parkingspace while en route to a destination, a predetermined time delay, suchas a five minutes or any other time, can be implemented to allow otherdrivers that physically approach the space to park. If the space is notfilled within the predetermined time delay, the space can be offered toa remote user for reservation. In one embodiment, a status of the spacecan enter an “about to be offered for reservation” period, whichindicates to a driver that is physically near the space to park,otherwise, the space will be reserved.

A parking indicator can be used to display the status of one or moreparking spaces as described above with reference to FIG. 3. Forinstance, returning to the scenario above, a predetermined time delay offive minutes is implemented during which other drivers or users thatphysically approach the space can park. The other drivers and users knowthat the space is available for parking because a parking indicatorassociated with the space displays an indication of available parking,such as by a display of one or more lights that can be the same ordifferent colors, which are solid, flash, or blink. Alternatively, adynamic sign can display a text message to indicate that the parking isavailable.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described asreferenced to the embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art willunderstand that the foregoing and other changes in form and detail maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented system for providingavailable parking spaces, comprising: a database to store a plurality ofparking spaces each associated with a hold time during which thatparking space is held for a vehicle prior to that vehicle's arrival atthe parking space, wherein shorter hold times are assigned to thoseparking spaces associated with parking variables that are desirablebased on driver preferences and longer hold times are assigned to thoseparking spaces with parking variables that are less desirable based ondriver preferences; a server comprising a central processing unit,memory, an input port to receive the hold times from the database, andan output port, wherein the central processing unit is configured to:receive from a user a request for a parking space; apply the hold timefor each parking space identified as available to an arrival time of theuser at that parking space; identify in response to the request one ofthe available parking spaces with the hold time greater than the arrivaltime of the user and designate the available parking space for the user;identify arrival of the user in the available parking space; andintroduce prior to departure of the user from the available parkingspace a time delay during which the available parking space occupied bythe user is made available only to drivers that physically approach thespace for parking, and is not available for reservation; and a parkingindicator to display a status associated with the time delay to thedrivers that physically approach the space for parking and positioned onone or more of a smart parking device, a parking services kiosk, and aparking meter located adjacent to the available parking space.
 2. Acomputer-implemented system according to claim 1, wherein the centralprocessing unit provides the available parking space for reservationupon termination of the time delay when the available parking space isnot occupied by a vehicle at the termination.
 3. A computer-implementedsystem according to claim 1, wherein the central processing unitdisplays the availability of the available parking space to the driversvia the parking indicator.
 4. A computer-implemented system according toclaim 1, wherein the parking indicator comprises one of a dynamic sign,solid lights, blinking lights, flashing lights, and colored lights.
 5. Acomputer-implemented system according to claim 1, wherein the centralprocessing unit provides a notification to the drivers that theavailable parking space is about to be offered for reservation prior totermination of the time delay.
 6. A computer-implemented systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the central processing unit identifies asubset of the available parking spaces with the hold times greater thanthe arrival time of the user based on one or more preferences of theuser, provides the subset of available parking spaces to the user, andreceives a selection of one of the available parking spaces in thesubset from the user as the available parking space designated forparking by the user.
 7. A computer-implemented system according to claim6, wherein the central processing unit ranks the preferences of the userand presents to the user the subset of available parking spaces based onthe ranked user preferences.
 8. A computer-implemented system accordingto claim 6, wherein the central processing unit sends a reservationoffer to the user upon receipt of the available parking space selectedby the user.
 9. A computer-implemented system according to claim 1,wherein the central processing unit provides to the user directions tothe available parking space.
 10. A computer-implemented system accordingto claim 1, wherein the arrival time of the user is determined based onone or more of a location of the user upon receiving the reservationrequest, a distance of the location from the available parking space,traffic, and speed limits.
 11. A computer-implemented method forproviding available parking spaces, comprising: associating a pluralityof parking spaces with a hold time during which that parking space isheld for a vehicle prior to that vehicle's arrival at the parking space,comprising: assigning shorter hold times to those parking spacesassociated with parking variables that are desirable based on driverpreferences; and assigning longer hold times to those parking spaceswith parking variables that are less desirable based on driverpreferences; receiving from a user a request for parking; applying thehold time for each parking space identified as available to an arrivaltime of the user at that parking space; in response to the request,identifying one of the available parking spaces with the hold timegreater than the arrival time of the user and designate the availableparking space for parking by the user; identifying arrival of the userin the available parking space; prior to departure of the user from theavailable parking space, introducing a time delay during which theavailable parking space occupied by the user is made available only todrivers that physically approach the space for parking upon departure ofthe user, and is not available for reservation; and displaying via aparking indicator a status associated with the time delay to the driversthat physically approach the space for parking, wherein the parkingindicator is positioned on one or more of a smart parking device, aparking services kiosk, and a parking meter located adjacent to theavailable parking space.
 12. A computer-implemented method according toclaim 11, further comprising: upon termination of the time delay,providing the available parking space for reservation when the availableparking space is not occupied by a vehicle at the termination.
 13. Acomputer-implemented method according to claim 11, further comprising:displaying to the drivers the availability of the available parkingspace via the parking indicator.
 14. A computer-implemented methodaccording to claim 11, wherein the parking indicator comprises one of adynamic sign, solid lights, blinking lights, flashing lights, andcolored lights.
 15. A computer-implemented method according to claim 11,further comprising: providing a notification to the drivers that theavailable parking space is about to be offered for reservation prior totermination of the time delay.
 16. A computer-implemented methodaccording to claim 11, further comprising: identifying a subset of theavailable parking spaces with the hold times greater than the arrivaltime of the user based on one or more preferences of the user; providingthe subset of available parking spaces to the user; and receiving aselection of one of the available parking spaces in the subset from theuser as the available parking space designated for parking by the user.17. A computer-implemented method according to claim 16, furthercomprising: ranking the preferences of the user; and presenting to theuser the subset of available parking spaces based on the rankedpreferences.
 18. A computer-implemented method according to claim 16,further comprising: upon receipt of the available parking space selectedby the user, sending a reservation offer to the user.
 19. Acomputer-implemented method according to claim 11, further comprising:providing to the user directions to the available parking space.
 20. Acomputer-implemented method according to claim 11, further comprising:determining the arrival time of the user based on one or more of alocation of the user upon receiving the reservation request, a distanceof the location from the available parking space, traffic, and speedlimits.